Joys and Concerns

How To Reach Us

April 6, 2016

posted Apr 6, 2016, 9:17 AM by Anaheim UU Church

The old saying is that in April we have showers and this year, I know we are all hoping for that to happen. The California drought hasn’t yet gotten the help we hoped would come with an El Nino. As I thought about that saying [April showers] I realized that it has several meanings for us. To begin with many of us do complain when our planned outings are “dampened” by rain and it’s important to remember that there is a cycle to life that doesn’t necessarily coincide with our deepest or most frivolous desires. I guess we are inherently selfish in that regard and a stern reminder from Mother Nature, that we need to see a bigger picture than whatever we might have planned for the moment, is in order. There are more important concerns than my planned picnic, shopping trip, sporting event, or my tennis or golf game. Perspective tells us that “truth” all the time, but it is easy to get caught up in the moment.

And another message [at least for me] that I need to hear is that I’m not all that powerful - I can’t overthrow the rhythm of the cosmos by a selfish desire. That’s a relief! I’m glad for the reminder that nature and many other things will go on as they have before whether I’m in synch with that plan or not. What a relief to know I can’t do that much damage by being selfish or thoughtless. That’s not to say that I should give up trying to avoid both selfishness [at other’s expense] or thoughtlessness, but I also ought not to get “too big for my britches” [to use a phrase my parent’s generation was fond of].

And finally I’m reminded that sometimes what seems like a burden, a stumbling block, or just an undesirable occurrence has a silver lining after all [wait for next month’s column to hear that one. I’m assuming you already know what comes after April showers]. So may we all find comfort and peace in gentle April showers enriching our lives, feeding our souls, and reminding us of lessons we need to learn.